Cupola-charging machine



March 17, 1925. 1,530,337

A. A. WICKLAND GUPOLA CHARGING MACHINE Filed March 20, 1922 4Sheets-Sheet 1 I WWW A. A. WHCKLAND CUPOLA CHARGING MACHINE Filed March20, 1922 7 4 tsheet 2 Mazrcfi 1?, i925. 1,539,337

A. A. WICKLAND CUPOLA CHARGING MACHINE Filed March 20, 1922 4 ts heet 5W/ T/VESS E6 INVENTOE.

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March 17, 1925. 1,530,337

A. A. WICKLAND CUPOLA CHARGING MACHINE Filed March 20, 1922 ASheets-Sheet 4 Patented Mar. 17, 1925.

'ALGOT'A; WICKLAND, cF-oHIcAediLLINoIsI I GUIOL'A-GHARGING MACHINE-Q lApplicationvfiled March' 20,1922. SeriaLNo. 545,314.

To all whom it some Be'it known that I, ALGOT A. WIoKLANn,

a citizen of-the United States of America,

" residingat Chicago, inthe county of Cool;

and State of Illinois, I have invented certain mg the cars or containerson the floor.

An additional objectofthis invention is new and usefulImprovements inCupola- Charging Machines, of wh-ich'the following w is a specificationsMy invention relates to cupola' charging. IO'machmesfOr useing'ray ironfoundries.

Thejob ect of myinvention is to'provide "an efficient device forhandlinga large "ton nage of already welghed'chargesof iron and cokepreviously arranged onlthe charging. lfifioor and to provide mechanicalmeans for charging said'mate'rial into the cupola in even layers, in asimple and expeditious r A further object of this invention is" toeliminate, as far as'possible, manual labortrons being omittedfor-'clearness;

and-the attendant fatigu'e, .discomfort and exposure of the opera-torstothe'high furnace v temperatures that are incurredwhile charglng by hand;

Another object is to provide a machine which will permit storing theloaded charg- 111g cars on the floor and from whence the materlail maybe conveyed to the cupola and charged as required, with a minimum amountof manual labor. The charging m'achines commonly in use are located in afixed position in front'ofthe cupola'an'dthe operator has no means ofcontrolling or spreading the charges as the material is dumped into thecupola. The result of this method of operation means that'the charge,which consists ofalternate layers of iron and fuel are distributedunevenly, which" is detrimental,

si d- In'the operation of small foundries it is consideredgood practiceto deliver-the necessarymaterial to the charging floor before thecupclais started. The material is then weighed up and charged by hand asthe meltingprogresses. The materialis trans, ported from the yard binsinhand'trucks or wheelbarrows and'an elevator is used-for calls for agreatdeal of costly hand-labor,

V which my invention will "obviate.

if an efiicient operation of thercupola is de-- With a charging machine,the' charges may I be" Weighed up'in' the yard'i'n suitable charingcars, thence *conveyedto the charging floors and either left on'thefloorforreserve to provide a-machi-ne of the simpledesign and sturdyconstruction necessary to with-y operators;-

stand hard usage in-thehands ofunskilled Other obj ectsandadvantages oftheinventionwill be:appjarent from the following clescription Whenconsidered'in connectionwith the: accompanying drawlngs illustrating apreferred embodlment thereof, 1nwhich- Figure-1 is a longitudinalsection showing,

the cupola, overhead supporting framing and tilting mechanism, thesupports for the circular track, air and electric" connecand a crosssection of the cupola. This View also indicates therelativearrangementofthe charging carswhen placed on the floor for' storage i Figure 6 is.an end elevation of the complete machine with'the'charging carshown' 11n positlon.

Figure 7 is an elevation'showi ng the lifting cylinder and cross sectionofthe trolley frame, taken on li1rei7 -7, Figure 5;

Figure 8is an" elevation and cross section, taken on line-8 8, Figure 5,showingthe motor, spur gearing. and structural-framing.

Figure 9 is an enlarged longitudinal cross section ofthe platformorcradle. The dash and dottedlines indicate the position of the charging"car. r- Figure 10 is a transver'e' sectionof the platform, taken on line;10*10',-' Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a plan viewofa mod fied constructionintendedfor use 'inse'rving on'eor more cu p'olas. v H

In the drawings, wherein-I have illustrated the preferred embodiment "ofmy invention, 30'indi-catesthe chargingfloor, at

' one end f whichithe eupel's eeais manged;

the opening into the cupola beingslightly above the floor level.Arranged above the floor a suitable distance, is a pair of paralleltracks 11, thesetracks being connected together at their ends, andadapted to have the track wheels 2* ride thereon.

Trolley'members 2 carry the track wheels 2, and the trolley members 2also carry downwardly and forwardly extending framing 3, which in turncarries the car receiving platform t at its lower end. The lower end ofthe framing 3 extends in advance of the upper end relative to thecharging opening of the cupola, for a purpose to be more clearlyhereinafter described. One end of the inclined track 1 is supported by acrosshead 9 which also forms a pivoted thrust bearing for a kingpin 10.A sleeve having an integral plate 11 is supported on I-beams 22 arrangedto extend transversely of the track members 1, said I-beams beingpreferably a part of the steel work of the building itself. The oppositeend of the track is supported at an elevation below the pivoted end soas to form an inclined track upon which trolley and framing may bemoved. The lower end of the inclined track is supported upon members 12and track wheels 15. These last mentioned wheels are carried by shafts14, which in turn are driven by any suitable means, as for instance bybeveled gearing operating in conjunction with a shaft 13 connecting thebeveled gearing. The shaft 13 may be driven by a spur gear 17 and apinion 16, directly connected to a source of power, as for instance amotor as shown Fig. 8.

The trolley frame 2 consists of two parallel members having a rigidcross-bracing therebetween to form a rectangular frame, provisions beingmade for connections with the trolley framing 3. Any suitable means maybe provided for resisting the Vertical movement of the trolley wheels,as for instance guides or the like, but these trolley wheels are alwaysfree to travel longitudinally of the track members 1.

A compressed air cylinder 8 is rigidly connected. at one end to thetrolley. frame and has a piston rod insertable thereinto at the otherend, the piston rod being secured or anchored to the crosshead 9. It isobvious that when air is admitted into the cylinder 8 the cylinder andnot the piston will be actuated and thereby cause the trolley andframing carried by the cylinder to be moved tog-ether therewith. Themembers 12 are braced by a yoke 18 extending therebetween and thereaboveto clear the cylinder 8 and which serves the purpose of giving lateralstiffness and rigidity to the inclined track members 1.

A circular track 23 is provided and upon which the wheels 15 are movableand carrying the overhead track structure. Any

ways when the car is tilted.

means may be provided for supporting these tracks, as for instance floorcolumns, or these tracks may be suspended from above. A car-carryingcradle or platform 4 is adapted to be arranged at the lower end of'theframing 3, said platform comprising a floor plate 4 upon which the car21 is adapted to rest, said floor plate being riveted or otherwiserigidly secured to a pair of parallel side members 4 spa'ced to clearthe car (see Figs. 6 and 10). A member 5 isconnected across one end ofthe plates 49 and closes said end and limits the movement of the car inone direction. Hinged to the portion 5 by means of a pin 5 is a U-shapedmember 5, shownmore particularly 1n Figs.

3, 9, and 10. The cross-section of the legs of said U member beingpreferably angleshaped. The legs of the member 5 extend substantiallythe full length of the platform, and the free ends-are extendeddownwardly thereof, as shown in Fig. 9.

Pivotally secured to the free ends of the U member 5, as at (S is a bail6. A hoist 7 is connected at one end to the movable trolley 2 and isconnected at its other end to the bail 6 so that said hoist may beoperated to raise the bail and tilt the U-shaped member, as shown indotted lines in Fig. 1.

It is obvious that the flanges and ribs provided on the U-shaped memberwill engage the car 21 placed on the platform 1- and prevent the samefrom moving forward or side cars 21 may be constructed in any convenlentshape or size to suit the material to be handled, but four-wheel carsare preferable to those having a lesser number of wheels. The framingmembers 3 provide a very rigid bracework between the trolley and theplatform and are constructed with the necessary clearance so that theywill not interfere with the movement of the car, platform, or liftingcylinder.

The operation of the device is as follows: The loaded cars, orcontainers, are placed 'lhe chai ging on the platform 4:, as shown infulllines in Fig. 1. An air-controlled valve indicated at 20 is openedto admit air to the cylinder, and

the trolley then moves forward, advancing the platform to the positionindicated in dotted lines. Air is then admitted to the lifting cylinderor hoist 7, which will move the lifting bail and the U-shaped tiltingframe 5, tilting the car forwardly, as shown in dotted lines, causingthe entire contents of the car to drop within the cupola opening.

In order to spread the charges evenly, the

car may be moved to any desired position,

viz itmay be advanced, retarded, or tilted to a greater or less degreeat the will of the operator. To further insure an even distribution ofthe material in charging, the machine may be swung to the positionsindicated by the lines C and D Fig. 5, so that the car may be moreaccurately dumped into the desired position in the cupola. Itis'evident. that by this method the charges may be distributed uniformlyand evenly over the entire area of the cupola, whichis of utmostimportance in obtaining'a uniform mixture der 8 to advance and lift theplatform off] the floor sufiiciently to'clear. It may then be moved in acircular path, as shown in Fig. 5. e e

lVhen the air is released the platform returns to the floor, and the carmay be taken off and leftv on the floor in readiness for charging. Thedot and dash lines shown in Fig. 5 indicate one of the extreme positionsof theplatform when used for conveying cars intended to be left instorage;

It is to be noted that when the machine is inv the normal position shownin full lines in the drawingsthe platform 4: is directly in front of thecupola and is firmly resting on and entirely supported by the chargingfloor 30. It is also to be noted, and is ex tremely important, that theplatform is ad vanced toward the cupola opening relative to the overheadtrolley structure movable therewith, that is, the platform is'quite adistance nearer the cupola than the trolley. This is in order that theplatform and tilting mechanism may enter and operate entirely within thecupola door'or opening, as shown, and without in any wayover-exposingthe moving parts of the operating cylinder to the heat of the gases orcausing inter. ference of the overhead track or structure with thecupola shell.

.The device shown in Fig. 11 is substantially similar to that previouslydescribed except that the trolley is arranged to move along a pair ofparallel track members 23, making the device extremelydesirable Where aseries of cupolas 29fare arranged in a row, as shown. It is obvious thatthere will be no pivoting of the trolley about one of the track members23 as in the previously described modification.

hat I have'inventedand desire to claim asnewis: y v

1'. In a cupola charging machine, an inclinedoverhe'ad track structure,afixed pivot bearing supporting said track structure at one end, a radialtrack at the/opposite end of said inclined track structure upon whichsaid inclined track structure is movably -sup-- ported, a trolley framemovably supported by said inclined track structure, a platform rigidlysuspended from said trolley frame andmeans on said platform-to receive,hold andv discharge portable containers placed thereon.

2. In a cupola charging machine, an inclined overhead track, 'a trolleyframe adapt ed to travel on said track, a platform rigidly suspendedfrom SitlCl track frame, a U- shaped member pivoted to said platformadapted to engage'and discharge portable contalners placed on saidplatform and power means fortilting said 'U-shaped mem-' ber,substantially as described.

' 3. In a cupola charging machine, an over head bridge structure'havingan inclined track thereon, a trolley frame adapted to be movablysupported and" guided on said track, a platform rigidly connected tosaid trolley, said platform having a U-shaped member hinged thereonwhich is adapted to engage and tilt receptacles to discharge theircontents.

4. In a oupolacharging machine comprisfing an overhead structureprovlded with an inclined trolley track," a' trolley frame mounted; formovement along saidtrack, a platform rigidly suspended, from 1 saidtrolley, and means on said platform adapted to engage and dischargeportable receptacles placed on said platform.

In a cupola charging machine an overhead bridge structure, an inclinedtrack'supported thereon, atrolley frame movable on said track, a carplatform rigidly suspended from said trolley m an advanced posltionthereto. I

6. In a cupola charging machine, an overhead bridge structure, aninclined track supported thereon, a trolley frame movable on said track,power means for moving said trolley frame along said inclined track, and

a car;p1atform rigidly suspended from said trolley frame 1n an advancedforward position.

ALGOT A. WIOKLAND.

